President Obama MIA on Capitol Hill, but Reports for Duty to Defend DADT at Supreme Court

November 10, 2010

(Washington, DC) - Log Cabin Republicans are once again matched up against the President, as his Justice Department is defending enforcement of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' before the United States Supreme Court. This decision comes after the Ninth Circuit imposed a stay resurrecting the policy, which was declared unconstitutional in September.

"It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department has forced the Log Cabin Republicans to go to the Supreme Court to halt this failed policy," said R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. "At the same time, President Obama remains far from the front lines of the fight for legislative repeal while commanding his lawyers to zealously defend 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in court. This week Log Cabin Republicans have conducted meetings with numerous Republican senators potentially in favor of repeal, all of whom are waiting for the President's call. The White House has been missing in action on Capitol Hill, undermining efforts to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in the final session of this Congress, potentially leaving the judiciary as the only solution for our brave men and women in uniform."

"We have reviewed the government's opposition to Log Cabin's application to vacate the stay of Judge Phillips's injunction by the Ninth Circuit," said Dan Woods, White and Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Repulicans. "In our view, the government's lengthy, detailed, 29-page brief does not address the two key arguments we presented to the Supreme Court. First, we argued that the premise of the government's position – that it needs time to conduct an orderly process of repealing DADT – is entirely speculative because Congress has not and very well may never repeal DADT; the government's filing today does not address that issue. Second, we argued that the Ninth Circuit order did not take into account the harm to servicemembers and potential enlistees resulting from the stay; the government's filing today does not respond to that point either. At this point, all we can do is look forward to a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court."

Log Cabin Republicans filed suit in federal district court against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in 2004. The case went to trial in Riverside, California in July of 2010, and Judge Virginia Phillips ruled on September 9, 2010 that the policy violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. On October 12, 2010 Judge Phillips issued a worldwide, immediate and permanent injunction against enforcement of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."